One problem which arises with crop harvesting headers of this type is that of separating the crop at the end of the header so that there is a clear separation between crop passing inwardly of the end of the header which goes to the knife and is therefore cut and must be separated from the crop which passes outwardly of the end of the header and therefore remains uncut. Improper separation of the crop materials, particularly in crops which tend to entangle, can cause crops to be pulled into the knife at the end of the header so that blockages can occur in this location due to the inability of the knife to cut all of the crop which is pulled in from beyond the end of the header.
Conventionally a header of this type includes a generally conical separator which extends forwardly from the end wall of the header converging to a narrow front edge which passes through the crop and therefore acts as a crude separator. In many cases there is provided a curved wire element which extends forwardly from this conical separator forwardly and upwardly so as to assist in penetrating the crop at the area to be separated in advanced of the header reaching the crop.
Some crops such as rice and various forage crops such as cane and sorghum provide a high level of entanglement so it is difficult to separate the crop simply using the wire on the cone.
There are various attachments which can be mounted on the end of the header including stationary and rotary knives which stand in a vertical plane at the end of the header acting to cut the crop at the line of separation. These devices tend to be relatively expensive and require additional motors and mountings which can lead to additional complexity and therefore potential breakdown.